MENA House: "The Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak"

The streets of Cairo have been covered with posters of the face of Gamal Mubarak and the slogan "Gamal Mubarak...Gamal Masr" ("Gamal Mubarak, 'The beauty' of Egypt")

The aim of the newly-formed Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak is to promote and mobilise support for Mubarak in the upcoming Presidential elections in 2011 and to  encourage him to stand.

The co-ordinator of the group, Magdi al Kurdi, claims that it has numerous supporters from a wide variety of backgrounds. He has asserted that there are already 4000 participants and that there is backing from well-established individuals from different political parties. (Magdi al Kurdi resigned from the leftist Tagammu party to support Mubarak.)

MENA House: Music and the Egyptian Revolution

However, whilst there is much talk of Gamal's situation, the son of current President Hosni Mubarak has reiterated on numerous occasions that he does not want to run for the presidency. In a rare interview, with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Gamal answered, "Would you run for the Presidency in Egypt in the upcoming 2011 elections?" with an articulate, resounding, and convincing "No!".

So what is the point of this new group? Asked what would happen if  Gamal refused to put himself forward in 2011, El Kurdi responded that the organisation would continue to encourage Mubarak to rethink his position.

On a side note: Ali el Deen el Helal, Youth Minister and member of the National Democratic Party, has stated openly in the People's Assembly that it is "rude" to be discussing an era after Hosni Mubarak:

1) Egypt is still 16 months from the elections.

2) Discussion is impolite until Hosni Mubarak releases an official statement that he will not be running in the election.

3) Should Mubarak step down, there is no reason to worry "Egypt will find many more intelligent potential candidates".

One wonders if Ali el Deen el Helal thinks the Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak is rude and impolite in its loud consideration of Egypt's future. And perhaps one wonders what the leader of that coalition, el Helal, makes of the activities of his fellow members of the People's Assembly.

MENA House: "Official Statements" on Mubarak's Health; 50 Years of Egyptian TV

It is official: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is "fine" and "very active".

At a press conference in Orba Palace, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Soliman Awad addressed foreign reports on Mubarak's health. The conference was arranged after The Washington Times published that sources from "international intelligence agencies" claiming that President Hosni Mubarak had less than one year to live. [Editor's Note: EA had published the reports about Mubarak's cancer, claimed to be terminal, two weeks ago.]

Awad said, "As a diplomat, I am used to dealing with rumours" and that only God knows when the life of an individual will end. He went on further to say that "

Official statements are rarely made regarding President Mubarak's health. Even when the news filtered out through London-based Arabic newspapers and EA and then was splashed by The Washington Times, Egyptian domestic news and evening discussion programmes did not touch the subject. Only when the official statement was made, did presenter Mona el Shazly reassure the Egyptian public that the President's health is fine.

The "official statement" also followed claims that, in light of the reports on Mubarak's poor health, Israeli Minister Arieh Eldad advised Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu not to rush negotiations with the Egyptian President as brokering a deal with Egypt in the circumstances would be a mistake.

So the question is begged: was the official statement made to establish the "truth of the situation" or to dispel inaccurate rumours? Was this for economic stability? After all, in summer 2008, news raced around the streets of Egypt that President Mubarak had died.  The response: shares were sold for pennies and there was widespread panic. 

On a lighter side note, Happy 50th Anniversary to Egyptian TV --- on 21 July 1960, at exactly 7 p.m., Cairo went on-air.

Here's a short clip showing the birth of television in Egypt, with all-time greats Omar Sharif, Kamal el Shenawy, Ahmed Ramzi, Roshdi Abaza and his wife Samia Gamal.  The list goes on...